Product couponing and sampling method

ABSTRACT

A targeted method for providing coupons and samples to consumers, that provides extensive feedback to manufacturers, identifies consumers that represent a desired demographic profile, enables a convenient consumer couponing experience, controls and contains fraud through the use of expiration methods and location data.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 12/435,926 filed May5, 2009, now allowed, which is non-provisional application ofprovisional application Ser. No. 61/126,660 filed May 5, 2008, both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods for generating consumerinterest in a product through product coupons and/or sampling.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Manufacturers have long sought effective methods for generating consumerinterest in products. One known method is providing consumers withcoupons or sample vouchers for a product, enticing those consumers tosample the product and, hopefully, elect to purchase the product at afuture time.

There are a variety of ways that products are delivered to consumers. Insome cases, coupons and samples are manually distributed, either inrelatively populated public places, or retail locations. This method hasthe disadvantage that the coupons and samples cannot be easily targetedto a particular consumer group, nor can the response of consumers to theproduct be easily tracked. In other cases, coupons and samples aredelivered through the mail to consumers, and sample often areaccompanied by coupons for retail purchase of the sampled item. Thismethod permits targeted delivery of samples and coupons to consumers ofinterest; furthermore, the consumers' use of the coupons can be used totrace response to the mailed samples. However, this method is relativelyexpensive, and the use of coupons by consumers is difficult to track andprovides minimal insight into the consumer's reaction to the product. Insome cases, telephone inquiries are made to consumers who have receivedsamples, seeking to obtain feedback. However, consumers often resenttelephone surveys, and thus response rates are poor.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,370 describes a method of sample distribution basedupon retail behavior. Specifically, based upon a consumer's purchases atthe register of a retail store, coupons are printed for the consumer,offering discounts on products. The coupons may be redeemable at aretail site or provide a telephone number that can be contacted torequest shipment of a free sample to the consumer. Products to besampled may be selected at random from a pool of available samples, orbased upon the consumer's demographics or purchasing patterns.Demographics and purchasing patterns may be identified from a singlepurchase event at a given location, or from multiple purchases or amailing address which may be associated with a single consumer throughthe use of a credit card number and/or loyalty card.

More recently, a number of Internet-based methods have been implemented,exemplified by the web sites currently available at the domain namesstartsampling.com, freesamples.com and freesampleclub.com. Each of theseservices provides free samples to consumers that visit the web site andregister to participate in sampling.

In the area of couponing, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,972, 6,877,661, 6,775,539and 6,736,322 describe various methods for distributing coupons in anelectronic manner, e.g., using a display screen to display a couponbarcode that may be scanned at a point of sale.

Although these methods have been used to some effect, they also sufferfrom various difficulties. Existing methods of product couponing andproduct sampling have not been particularly cost effective, and have notprovided accurate, reliable, and swift feedback from consumers spreadover a large demographic area. Manufacturers continue to have difficultyobtaining product feedback, whether the product is promoted by samplingor couponing. Furthermore, manufacturers lack information regarding theconsumer in-store experience and how it can influence product purchases.Furthermore, manufacturers have the concern that electronic coupons orvouchers, because they are not linked to tangible media (unliketraditional paper coupons), present no barrier to coupon fraud;specifically, a consumer is not required to accumulate and presentmultiple paper coupons to obtain coupon redemptions; a consumer couldaccomplish multiple redemptions using the electronically presentedcoupons, with not countervailing controls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a targeted method for providing coupons andsamples to consumers that provides extensive feedback to manufacturers,identifies consumers that represent a desired demographic profile,enables a convenient consumer couponing experience, and controls andcontains fraud through the use of expiration methods and location data.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present inventionshall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and thedescription thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a consumer's interface, via a mobile deviceor PC, to a server farm running a web application implementing themethod of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the steps involved in the use of the webapplication to perform steps of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3C is an illustration of the displays produced on a mobiledevice in steps of the present invention;

FIGS. 3D-3F are further illustrations of the displays produced on amobile device in steps of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a server farm 18 accessible by a user that implementsprinciples of the present invention. This server includes the followingelements:

-   -   A database of coupons by UPC within a server 19.    -   A front page for PC's at www.samplesaint.com and for mobile        devices at m.samplesaint.com, within server 20. This front page        will include links to locate product coupons, once the consumer        has logged in.    -   A page for finding products within server 20, that has an input        textbox with a button called “find coupon” along with text        explaining its use.    -   A processing page within server 20, accessible from the find        product page, that uses the coupon by UPC search and coupon        related to UPC search and returns items to consumer if any.    -   A page to display the coupons list within server 20, by exact        match first, and related coupons second.    -   Links for each result to go to a descriptions page within server        20.    -   A descriptions page within server 20 for the coupon selected        that includes amount of coupon, title of product, expiration        date, and terms and conditions and a link to add the coupon to        my mobile shopping cart, a link to return to the list and a link        to return to the search screen.    -   An active database within server 19 through which a coupon is        added to a mobile shopping cart by adding the consumer ID, the        coupon code (UPC-A or equivalent) and the expiration date.    -   A mail server 21.

Use of the site will proceed as illustrated in FIG. 2. At the START 30the user logs into the website, at which point the user has a number ofchoices:

-   -   Refer a friend 32, through which the user may send 33 a referral        email via server 21 to a friend to join the web site community.    -   Create/edit a user profile 34. Through this page the user may        update his/her demographic profile 35. The profile may include a        link to a family group within which coupons and related shopping        lists may be shared, as discussed below. Users may be rewarded        for providing detailed profiles and/or for enrolling family by        delivering additional coupons to them in exchange. Other        consumer reward systems for other desirable consumer behavior        are noted below. Users may also write product reviews 36.        Finally, users may add 37 items that are desired for later        purchase, to a “grocery list”. This grocery list, which may be        completely separate to coupons, or may be linked thereto,        provides a convenient place to store a list of desired products,        while simultaneously providing brand preference information that        may be useful individually or in the aggregate to brand        managers.    -   Browse samples and coupons 38. This page permits a user to        browse available sample or coupon offers, which may be selected        based on demographic information for the user. The user may also        request 40 the sampling or couponing for a specific product, via        the entry of the product's UPC code from the product package, or        by a search process through a product database (such as is        available in UPC code databases). The user may also read 42        product reviews.    -   Browse or search product reviews 39. This page allows a user to        proceed directly to reading product reviews.    -   Create digital coupon 44. This page allows the consumer to        convert a paper coupon the consumer has acquired to digital        form. The conversion requires the consumer to enter the UPC code        and coupon code for the coupon, and then a number of specific        checks are performed to permit electronic redemption of the        coupon:

1. The first number in the coupon code sequence should be “5” which isused to designate a manufacturer's coupon (as opposed to “99” whichdesignates an in-store coupon, for example).

2. The length of the coupon code entered by the consumer is verified,which should include 13 total digits (beginning with a “5”).

3. The value digits should match the value entered by the consumer fromthe face of the coupon.

4. Compare the check digits in the coupon code using the redundancycheck methodology defined for manufacturer coupons.

Upon successful completion of these steps, to complete creation of adigital coupon 44 a bar code is generated and stored in the consumer'sgrocery list.

When a user requests 46 a product coupon or sample, processing branchesdepending upon whether the user is connected to a PC or a mobile device.Mobile device processing includes functions appropriate for a mobiledevice and allows the redemption of previously identified coupons orvouchers.

In the case of a request for a sample, on a PC (as determined at step48) the consumer will be presented 52 with a survey (if one is definedas determined at step 50), followed by verification 54 of the consumeraddress and the generation 56 of a sample order. Via a mobile device (asdetermined at step 48), the survey may be skipped due to the difficultyin implementing a survey on such a device. In either case, the sample isshipped 58 to the consumer.

In the case of a request for a coupon from a PC (as determined at step60), the coupon will be presented 62 to the user for printing. In thecase of a coupon request on a mobile device (as determined at step 60),the coupon can be presented immediately 66 for bar code scanning, oralternatively, the coupon may be added 68 to a “mobile coupon cart” onthe device. (The “display” or “cart” options are presented to the userin step 64.) This “cart” construct retains coupons identified during orprior to a shopping experience, so that those coupons may besystematically presented during checkout.

The checkout procedure 70 may be immediately initiated following theaddition of a coupon to the “mobile coupon cart”. Checkout presents 72the bar code for each coupon or voucher in the mobile coupon cart on thedisplay of the mobile device, or alternatively delivers 74 the UPC codefor the coupon or voucher from the mobile device directly to the pointof sale register, e.g. via a wireless connection such as by Bluetooth orother wireless technology. After the user scans or otherwise presentsthe coupon or voucher via bar code or otherwise, the user sequences themobile device to present the next coupon or voucher in the mobile cart(as determined at step 76), or the process completes.

FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate the display of a mobile device communicating withthe server. In FIG. 3A, the user is presented with the home page of theserver, from which the user may view samples, coupons and consumer news,and login to the site. FIG. 3B illustrates the login page. FIG. 3Cillustrates the home page after a consumer has logged in, which is nowpersonalized to the user.

FIG. 3D illustrates the display of available coupons that may be addedto the user's mobile shopping cart. If a particular product is selected,the product details are shown as seen in FIG. 3E, and options areprovided to immediately view the coupon code, send the coupon to anemail address for later printing, or view other coupons. If a coupon isselected for display, the bar code is presented as shown in FIG. 3E.This bar code may be scanned, or entered by the cashier.

As noted above, one concern regarding the use of digital coupon is thata consumer would have the ability to redeem that coupon repeatedly.Consumer Product Goods companies have identified this as coupon fraudand desire to prevent this from occurring. The present inventionincludes a process that can prevent this scenario from occurring.Specifically, the mobile device, which is a gateway to presentation ofcoupons to a point of sale, may implement an application (via a webbrowser or a downloaded mobile device application) that ensures that thecoupon can only be used for a limited amount of time. Specifically, acoupon, once displayed from the mobile shopping cart, has a limitedexpiration time and cannot be redisplayed, nor can the coupon beregenerated for that particular login without the passage of amanufacturer-established time period.

Thus, the consumer use of the inventive server involves the followingsteps:

-   -   Consumer registers with Samplesaint    -   Depending upon implementation, consumer downloads the        Samplesaint Application to mobile device    -   Consumer adds coupons to mobile cart via a PC connected to the        website or via the mobile device    -   Coupons are now ready to be used at a store    -   At checkout, the mobile device is used to open the Samplesaint        mobile browser page, or mobile device application, and open        mobile cart, and select checkout    -   A prompt is displayed to confirm checkout and note the        expiration of the displayed coupons    -   Once the checkout is confirmed, the mobile device unlocks the        barcodes for each coupon and starts a timer which will cause the        coupons in mobile cart to expire in a predetermined amount of        time    -   The consumer then redeems the coupons at the register    -   After the timer expires the mobile cart is disabled and expired        coupon graphic appears

Thus, by using the invention, the consumer's mobile device may be usedfor couponing, while assuring participating Consumer Product Goodscompanies that a control is provided against digital coupon fraud.

It will be appreciated that a mobile application utilized on the mobiledevice, may be a GPS enabled application, capable upon user approval ofgathering GPS location information as the mobile device moves with theconsumer. This information can then be delivered to the server to aid incoupon delivery and numerous other functions.

For example, the consumer's location may be determined when the userenters the checkout process, and this location indexed to thegeolocations of known retailers, thereby creating a record of the numberof redemptions that should be received from a given retailer, andproviding data that can be used to detect fraudulent claims ofredemptions by unscrupulous retailers.

In addition, GPS data may be used during a consumer's search for aproduct coupon, by indexing the actual aisle location of goods to theconsumer's location, so as to present only those coupon or sampleoptions relevant to a current shopping aisle. In addition, theconsumer's location can serve as a basis for generating coupon offers,e.g., a consumer in the aisle or store that carries a promoted brand maybe presented with offers to sample or use a coupon for that brand basedupon their presence in that location.

Finally, the consumer's presence in a given location can be used toobtain consumer feedback useful to consumer product manufacturers.Specifically, in some cases a consumer may have placed a coupon orsample offer into the mobile shopping cart, but be unable to find theproduct on the shelves. In this case, the mobile shopping cartapplication may provide the user with the option to note that a couponor sample in the shopping cart should not be redeemed for the reasonthat the item is “out of stock” or “could not be found” (thusdistinguishing those cases from the case where the consumer does notredeem or removes the item for the reason that the item “was notpurchased”). The data from a consumer that an item could not be found orwas out of stock, combined with the specific retailer location of theconsumer at the time of this event, can be delivered to the manufacturerto permit the manufacturer to remedy the situation by pursuing bettershelf placement and/or restocking at that retail location.

Consumers may be rewarded for providing accurate information regardingout of stock products, once verified by the manufacturer, by offers ofadditional coupons beyond those normally available. Such rewards mayovercome consumer hesitancy to provide GPS tracking information fromtheir mobile device.

Consumers may also receive location based advertisements. From thewebsite consumers select what their interests are and what types ofstores they prefer. They accept any terms and conditions that apply tothis service. Once signed up for the service Samplesaint begins trackingthe consumers' registered mobile device. This service can be turned offat anytime, even via the mobile device.

There are two options for performing tracking. (Option 1—ServiceProvider) Using the consumers' service provider, Samplesaint uses theidentification of the mobile device provided by the consumer andaccesses the Service Provider's system to locate the mobile device.(Option 2—Mobile Applet) The consumer is instructed from either thebrowser site or their mobile device to install an applet on their mobiledevice. This applet provides the GPS coordinates back to Samplesaint.

Once the location of the consumer has been obtained, the information isthen compared to the consumers' preferences and the available offers inthe Samplesaint system along with a predefined radius for each store.When the consumer is within the radius defined in the Samplesaintsystem, and a match is found, a text message, or some form ofnotification is sent to the consumer about the offer. The consumer canthen act on the offer.

The mobile device application or mobile device web site may also providea grocery list function. The grocery list allows the consumer to trackitems they purchase from stores on a regular basis. The consumer can additems to their list and define the time the item has before it needs tobe purchased again. When the item is recently purchased the item willappear green. When the item is nearing repurchase the item will appearyellow. Then when the item is due to be repurchased the item will turnred and if configured by the consumer send a notification to them thatthe item needs to be purchased. Also, if there is a coupon or specialoffer for an item at or about the time the notification is being sent tothe consumer, it will go along with it. The grocery list is availablefrom the web site and the mobile site.

From the website, using a search box consumers have the ability tosearch not only Samplesaints' website for coupons and samples, they havethe ability to search the whole world for coupons and samples. Usingspecialized searching criteria consumers are limited to just coupons andsamples in their results. Search capability may be obtained bypartnering with a site like google.com to provide the searchingtechnology is a likely solution for this search engine. Results aredisplayed inside of the Samplesaint website along with anyadvertisements that may be relevant to the search.

It will be noted that a consumer may use a paper coupon, delivered byconventional means, as an index to locate an electronic coupon and/orrequest an electronic coupon, using the bar coding on the paper coupon,or convert the paper coupon to an electronic coupon as described above.In this way a consumer might streamline the use of coupons by convertingto an all-electronic methodology.

The invention permits a number of scenarios for consumer use of thesystem. For example:

Scenario 1. Ordering samples via mobile phone (delivered to physicaladdress)

-   -   (a) User logs into mobile website.    -   (b) User views list of available samples (list is searchable by        product categories).    -   (c) User selects sample(s) desired from list.    -   (d) User may be asked to take a short survey about the product.    -   (e) Samples are then shipped to the user's household from the        manufacturer.    -   (f) User may be asked to take a short survey either some time        after requesting the sample.

Scenario 2. Intelligent (location-based) delivery of coupons (2processes)

(Process 1)

-   -   (a) User goes to mobile website    -   (b) User logs in (or is remembered via a cookie, etc.)    -   (c) User is asked for permission to get user location (GPS        coordinates)    -   (d) User agrees, user is shown coupons relevant to stores near        their current location    -   (e) User goes to store, uses coupon

(Process 2)

-   -   (a) User goes to mobile website    -   (b) User logs in (or is remembered)    -   (c) User downloads and installs java app on their mobile phone    -   (d) User runs application (maybe it runs all time)    -   (e) Application contacts servers giving user location (this        updates say every 10 minutes) or acquires location from GPS chip        on mobile phone    -   (f) When the user is near a store where they could use a coupon,        a coupon is sent to their phone (e-mail, text message) and the        phone alerts them    -   (g) User goes to store, uses coupon

Scenario 3. Ordering/Delivering coupons via mobile phone

-   -   (a) User logs into to our mobile website.    -   (b) User views list of available coupons (list is searchable by        product categories).    -   (c) User selects coupon(s) desired from list.    -   (d) User may be asked to take a short survey about the product.    -   (e) Coupons are displayed on the users mobile phone (with        barcode if applicable).    -   (f) Retailer verifies coupon and/or scans barcode when there is        one.    -   (g) User may be asked to take a short survey either some time        after requesting the coupon or when we know they used the coupon        (most coupons are not unique to each consumer).

An e-commerce site in accordance with principles of the inventionprovides, to consumers, an easy to use and fun portal that will allowconsumers of various products to obtain free coupons and samples. Thissite will encompass a visually appealing and user-friendly home pagethat will be accessible by typing the domain name chosen for thewebsite. For consumers, the domain name will be preceded by “www” whilefor a corporate client, it will be preceded by “corporate”. This pagewill be very simple and provide a link to most parts of the site. It mayhave

1. An ad at the top. This ad could be a promotion or just an ad to apartner's e-commerce site. An ad server such as that provided byMicrosoft, Google or the like, will manage this ad.

2. Intuitive Links: (should not be very prominent, and may appear at thebottom of the page)

3. Consumer's Customized links

4. Corporate Client links

5. Free coupon/sample search (results will be links but registration isrequired to gain access)

There will be two types of registration pages: The consumer registrationpage and the corporate registration page. Both pages will be accessibleto the server's internal administrative staff.

The first page is the consumer registration page. This page will allowconsumers to register in order to gain access to free sample products.It will be preceded by an agreement page, where consumers must click on“accept” to register. On this page, consumers will be asked for vitalstatistics which include but are not limited to Username (valid emailaddress), password, confirmation of password, Name, Address, City,State, etc. Corporate clients will be asked for similar vital statisticsas well.

The Login Page will allow the user to utilize their email address astheir login id. However, the password will be anything chosen by theuser. The password must be at least 5 characters in length. If a user isnot found, another page will be displayed giving the user the option ofregistering or being sent their password.

Other considerations are meta tags. Each page will have the followingmeta tags embedded: Free, free sample, samples, sampling, etc. The sitemust use minimal cookies or none at all.

The site design will be distinctive, allowing the site to have aconsistent, appealing look and feel across platforms. Inside the sitewill rely on standard hardware and LAN protocols to take advantage ofcost efficiencies.

The site will provide a unique way for manufacturers to interact withthe consumer through interactive marketing called Internet or mobilecouponing or sampling. This form of couponing and sampling allowsmarketers to develop unparalleled relationships with consumers and linkthem directly to retailers. This includes Cell phones and palm helddevices, as well as desktop computers, which are now an integral part ofthe digital landscape. To achieve optimal penetration to the consumer,the site will use interactive software as well as a unique marketingmethod that will continue to encourage the consumer to revisit the siteand give them a medium to purchase manufactured goods. The site willalso provide web-based services in conjunction with existing serviceproviders and will receive royalties for resulting transactions.

Companies pay a monthly fee for automatic connection to potentialconsumers. Additional fees are added for market research information andmarket inquiries and other specific information that are in addition towhat our company routinely provides. The service will pursue consumersfor the companies, providing various marketing tactics and promotions tokeep our consumers happy and coming back again. The companies will wantto be a part of this network and will pay a fee to allow them access.

Users will have a central home page to manage all the samples that theyhave requested. This page will also allow them to view “receipts” ofproducts requested or ordered. This central homepage will be passwordprotected and the user will have the option of selecting his/herpassword.

The homepage will be customizable by users. Customizable informationincludes personal information and products of interest.

Users will also have a shopping-basket for managing the coupons orsamples that they are requesting.

Users may also be associated into ad hoc groups of a limited number ofpersons, such as family units or other living groups. Within a group,users may share and send shopping lists and/or coupons to each other. Inthis way, groups of individuals and families may share, receive and givecoupons to other members of the same family and utilize the samefunctionality with a common pool of coupons. Multiple cell phone numbersand identities can be linked to a single group account, so that multiplefamily members can have access. Beyond sharing of coupons, this featurealso allows consumers to create shopping cart lists of products to bepurchased, as an aid in shopping, with coupons ready for use on anymobile phone of a family/group member. Items purchased may be checkedoff by any family member, and the purchaser will have the coupons thatassociated with those items already available to be scanned at checkout.For the minimization of fraud, coupons cannot be sent or shared outsideof a group, and groups are limited in size. The group may be limited tofamily or household members, unless otherwise permitted by amanufacturer.

Companies wishing to participate in a digital coupon program will have acentral home page where they can view who is requesting what coupon orfree sample. This page will also be customizable and password protected.Customizable information includes available coupons and samples. Usingthis page, corporate clients will be able to do promotions for variousproducts.

The site will have a product request statistics page where corporateusers can view various statistics on what products users are requesting,and how many users are requesting their products.

The site will be easy to use and navigate. The assumption must be thatusers have no prior computer experience. Every page will be accompaniedby clear instructions.

The site will support a back-end tracking of users' activities (Whatproduct they are viewing and requesting).

Users will be notified via email when a product that matches theirinterest is available. Their interest will be determined through theirclicking activity and profile.

The site will support a charted comparison of products within the sameproduct family. Corporate users will be able to view this information.

The site will have a back-end system that will be used by employees toperform basic administrative tasks like registering or activating acorporate user.

The site will utilize the 3-tier model. This consists of thepresentation layer, the business logic or middle tier and the database.The site will use mostly Microsoft-based technology primarily for thecost and the availability of skills in that platform. The technologythat will be used in the site includes:

Database: The database of choice is MS SQL Server. Several highlynormalized databases will be created. These databases will houseinformation such as consumer information, available product information,consumer activity information, sample or coupon information, corporateclient information, and advertisement information as well as orderfulfillment information.

Middleware: The middleware will provide a connection to the database aswell as implement the business logic. It will be a combination of COM+and ASP. The COM+ objects will be written in C++ or C# for flexibilityreasons. Also some COM+ objects will be obtained from Site ServerCommerce edition and ad Server.

Presentation layer: This will be two types. A crystal report and an HTMLbased presentation. The crystal report will provide reporting corporateusers while primary viewing of the site will be via regular browsers.Other technologies that will be used in the presentation layer includeCSS and Macromedia Flash. The site should make minimal use of cookies.

The site will be built for both Netscape and Internet Explorer versions4 or higher. AOL users must also be supported.

The website will strategically find the right consumer in the rightplace for the manufacturer by creating a setting to fit the profile of amanufacturer's brands. Consumers will be targeted by demographic, psychographic or through their purchasing behavior. Consumers will be locatedon the web through contextual marketing techniques. The website willallow for enhancement of product brand objectives (loyalty, brandextensions, line extensions) through sampling and coupons.

The website will allow the manufacturer to build brand equity beyond thedelivery of a coupon or sample. It will feature the latest new productnews and provide an Opt-in model which forces consumers' choice andshowcases the manufacturer's brand. It also provides quantitative andqualitative consumer insight through survey methods which enableconsumers to purchase products online. The website will provide candid,unaided consumer feedback about the manufacturer's product. The consumerprocess will matter by delivering consumers to manufacturer's message.The website will highlight key product features and benefits on productand manufacturer screens. It will promote a manufacturer's entireproduct line and deliver the manufacturer's marketing messages. It willlink to manufacturer's website or e-commerce partner to drive realsales.

The site will educate and engage consumers beyond the sample and includetactics to increase the reach to consumers and encourage product usage.This will be done through Peer-to-Peer (“Refer a Friend” Email) whichare persuasive consumer ‘word-of-mouth’ endorsements to leverage theconsumer's passion for the manufacturer's products. Through ProductUsage a consumer will be able to select existing recipes from the site'sdatabase or use brand recipes to personalize meal plans and shoppinglists. Product Usage also increases usage occasions and bridges the gapbetween the Internet and supermarkets. Through Marketing Inserts(Coupons & Marketing Collateral) where an insert with a sample toencourage trial, track conversion and provide product education. Thismethod will also drive to specific retail chain/stores.

The website will utilize Solo Delivery (including collateral).Impressive presentation of a manufacturer product and brand literaturecuts through the clutter. Speedy delivery of the product samples alwaysworks best. Solo mailing will maximize brand impact on the market. Thesponsoring entity will “own” the envelope. Shipment of samples will bedone within 48 hours of request to reinforce brand quickly after firstexposure on the website. Customization and brand packaging will includepartners to increase brand awareness.

Consumer Insight is important to constructing actionable consumersurveys for tracking. Some of the tools available will include Pre &Post Sample Surveys, Conversion studies, Open-ended qualitativefeedback, Online focus groups and brainstorming sessions,Custom-designed research. The site will quantify the impact of samplingthrough Usage & Purchase Intent, Brand loyalty, Conversion, BrandUnderstanding & Awareness, Attribute ratings, message retention &comprehension. The website will speed the product development cyclethrough Concept Testing, Message & Price testing, and including offlineevents in the research.

The service will involve Retail Partners by teaming up with them onlineand offline as well as building equity through the trade. Link consumersquickly to multiple sales options. Make it easy for consumers to findmanufacturer's product with a Store Locator, co-branded packagingOnline: direct to product description

The site will integrate with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM)plan. Sampling and couponing can be the driver for an integratedsolution.

The present invention thus avoids shortcomings of the prior art byproviding and Internet-based service that will allow manufacturers toefficiently and cost effectively access consumers. Consumers thatrepresent a desired demographic profile will be identified bydemographically profiling those consumers as they participate in othereconomic transactions. Desirable consumers will then be induced to visitthe Internet server and subscribe to the service and/or will be inducedto experiment with products through couponing or sampling.

In this way, a pool of consumers can be assembled by the Internet-basedservice, with accurate, advance knowledge of their demographic traits.Thus, the pool of consumers assembled for a given couponing or samplingeffort may be more directly representative of a desired demographicprofile than has been previously possible. At the same time, theInternet-based service may more accurately target demographicallycorrect consumers, to submit feedback on products couponed or sampled tothose consumers, via either email/web site or telephone communication.Using the accumulated accurate demographic information, theInternet-based service will be able to accurately identify consumers ofa desired demographic to encourage to participate in futurecouponing/sampling offers.

The Internet-based server may further establish discussion groups orgroup for a discussion of products. Consumers of a desired demographicmay be encouraged to participate in such groups by the offer ofadditional coupons or samples of products of the same or an economicallyrelated manufacturer.

The web application of the present invention is designed to implement aconsumer experience with couponing that differs from those known throughthe prior art. In particular, a consumer walking down an aisle of agrocery store, discovers a product of interest. The consumer wonders ifthere are any coupons for this product. The consumer takes out hismobile phone or mobile device and navigates to m.samplesaint.com usingthe mobile web browser. Once there, the consumer logs into the site andchooses the find product coupon option. The consumer is then asked tofind the UPC on the product and enter it into the website. After theconsumer has entered the number and initiated the search, Samplesaintchecks all available resources for the product, and particularly thoseproducts near to the consumer's geolocation. When results come back tothe consumer's mobile device, coupons that are an exact match appear ontop. Coupons of related products appear below exact matches. Theconsumer can then select one of the coupon offers to find out more aboutit. Here the consumer can see how much the coupon is worth, when itexpires and any other important information. A link on this screencalled add to my mobile shopping cart allows the consumer to add thecoupon to a queue for use at checkout.

While the present invention has been illustrated by a description ofvarious embodiments and while these embodiments have been described inconsiderable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants torestrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to suchdetail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear tothose skilled in the art. For example, each of the consumer interactionsteps may be performed via telephone in the case of consumers not havingor not comfortable with Internet access. The invention in its broaderaspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representativeapparatus and method, and illustrative example shown and described.Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departingfrom the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of delivering product advertisements,coupons or samples to a customer via the customer's wireless cellularmobile device, comprising storing subscription information for acustomer possessing a wireless cellular mobile device, the wirelesscellular mobile device at least including location circuitry, cellularmobile circuitry for establishing a data connection via a wirelessservice provider, and an operating system capable of receiving andinstalling software applets for operating the wireless cellular mobiledevice, delivering a software applet to the customer's wireless cellularmobile device, the applet including software enabling location circuitrywithin the mobile device and enabling communication with the mobiledevice, communicating with the customer's wireless cellular mobiledevice via the applet and a wireless cellular service provider to whichthe wireless cellular mobile device is subscribed, to receive a locationof the mobile device generated by the location circuitry in thecustomer's wireless cellular mobile device, the location having beenobtained by the software applet and transmitted via the wirelesscellular service provider, at a remote server, comparing a location ofthe mobile device to a predefined radius of a location, originating atthe remote server a notification regarding a particular product orserver based upon the location of the mobile device being within thepredefined radius of a location, and delivering the notification to themobile device via the wireless cellular service provider, so that thecustomer may request further information, responding to the customer'srequest for further information by delivering from the remote server tothe wireless cellular mobile device via the cellular service provider anadvertisement, coupon or sample regarding the particular product orservice.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving anindication delivered by the customer via the software applet that aparticular product was not found at the retail location.
 3. The methodof claim 2 further comprising receiving a location at which the consumerindicated the particular product was not found, the location generatedby the location circuitry in the customer's wireless cellular mobiledevice and obtained by the software applet and transmitted via thewireless cellular service provider.
 4. The method of claim 2 furthercomprising providing a reward to a consumer for accurate identificationof the product that could not be found.
 5. The method of claim 4 whereinthe reward comprises delivering information to the wireless cellularmobile device enabling the consumer to obtain a coupon for or sample ofa product using the software applet.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising enabling the user to enter a checkout process via thesoftware applet, the checkout process including presentation of a couponor sample voucher on a display of the customer's cellular mobile devicefor redemption to a point of sale.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising, after a period of time, expiring the coupon or samplevoucher and preventing its presentation to a point of sale by theconsumer via the customer's cellular mobile device.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the remote server records locations at which the mobiledevice remains stationary during use of the mobile device.
 9. The methodof claim 8 further comprising reconciling the locations recorded for themobile device, with locations of retail merchants, to enable theaccurate delivery of coupons, advertisements or sample vouchers.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 wherein the location of the mobile device whenperforming a checkout process with the applet is recorded for lateraudit of the redemption of a coupon or sample voucher by a retailmerchant.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the software applet providesa menus of coupons or sample vouchers and enables the consumer to selecta desired coupon or sample voucher, the menu of coupons or samplevouchers generated at least partially in response to the currentlocation identified by location circuitry in the consumer's mobiledevice.